No Secrets

And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For there is nothing hidden but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this."   Mk.4:22

Jesus is teaching the crowds in parables. He is the light that exposes all secrets, both good and evil.

It is both disconcerting and comforting to know that for Jesus there are no secrets, nothing is hidden.  There are things in my life I'm ashamed of. There are also hidden things that I know would give him pleasure.  There is injustice in the world, oppression of the weak, evil appears to prosper.

All this is known to God. I can leave judgement up to him. Regarding myself, I am totally reliant on his mercy. This should form a merciful attitude in me to others.

Lord Jesus, you know the hidden things in my life. Lord, I rely on your mercy. Help me be merciful to others.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Pull out the Thorns

Then there are others who receive the seed in thorns. These have heard the word, but the worries of this world, the lure of riches and all the other passions come in to choke the word, and so it produces nothing.Mk.4:18,19

Jesus is explaining the parable of the Sower to his disciples. The parable shows what can stop the Word of God from being fruitful in people's lives.

Of all the obstacles that stop the Word of God bearing fruit in my life, worries of the world and the lure of riches would be the biggies.

Even approaching morning prayer I have to stop myself from checking my phone for emails and social media contacts. If I fail to do this my mind becomes preoccupied, the thorns start to grow, the Word is choked.

I need to be disciplined with what I fill my mind, about what grows in my garden. I want the soil free of weeds and fertile so I can hear the word, accept it and yield a harvest.

Lord Jesus, you know how my mind wanders, gets distracted. Give me discipline to keep clear of distractions so I can hear you and bear your fruit.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Hear and Do

And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’Mk.3:34,35

Jesus' family have heard he his so occupied with ministering to the crowds that he is not even eating. Thinking him losing his mind, they came to take charge of him. Jesus uses the moment to illustrate a new relationship that exists between God and those who do his will.

Imagine my family wrongly thinking I was mad. How lonely it must have been for Jesus to have even his family not get who he was and what he was about. Yet even this low point is not by-passed without a teachable opportunity.

This lesson speaks to me.  I can be a brother to Jesus. Hear his words, do his will and bingo!.... I'm family.

Jesus, thank you for offering this invitation to be family, to be your brother. Help me Lord to do your will.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Signs of Believers

These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name... they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.   Mk.16:17,18

The risen Lord Jesus is reminding the apostles of their commission and of the signs that will accompany them.

I am a believer. I have have prayed for the healing of people. Some have been healed, some have not. Do I stop praying for healing because not all are healed? Never! There is a mystery to these signs that will only be revealed when Jesus returns.

Today I continue with the work that Jesus has assigned me... cast out devils, heal the sick, preach the Good News.

Lord Jesus, I place my trust in you. Build my faith that I may be an authentic witness to believing in you.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Rejoice and be Glad

O let there be rejoicing and gladness for all who seek you. Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’, who love your saving help.Ps.39:16

The psalmist sings of the great joy that belongs to all who seek God.

People who are glad are fun to be around. I know at my work today I won't see much "rejoicing and gladness". Why? Because those I work with don't seek God. There's a God-space within them but they don't actively seek to fill it.

Rejoicing and gladness, that deep lasting joy, is a gift from God to those who seek The Way, to those who seek his son Jesus.

The world is in desperate need of more rejoicing and gladness. Rejoicing and gladness are mine to share today.

Lord Jesus, how beautiful that even simply seeking you brings its own joy. Help me radiate your joy to those I meet today.
Little Flower, please pray for us.

Meaning and Purpose

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our heart that we may see how great is the hope to which we are called. Eph.1:17,18

Paul entreats the Ephesian Church to know how great is the hope given to believers.

“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” Victor Frankl.

Meaning and purpose are other words for hope. In Nazi concentration camps Victor Frankl watched men without hope die and those with hope survive unspeakable horrors. Hope is the great calling of Christians. A hopeless Christian is an impossibility.

No matter my circumstances, and life is full of highs and lows, no matter my circumstances I will always have hope in the promises of Jesus. Today is only shadowlands compared to the glories to come. From this hope springs joy.

Today I am a man of hope and joy, an authentic witness for Jesus.

Thank you Lord Jesus for the hope you give that gives meaning and purpose to my day. Help me pass this hope on to others in my day.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Pray for us Sinners

When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’
Jn.2:3

Mary and Jesus, with his disciples, have been invited to a wedding. When the wine runs out Mary intercedes for the bridegroom and Jesus performs his first public miracle turning the water into wine.

Invite Jesus and you invite his friends. He was rent-a-crowd. No wonder the wine ran out. Here Mary practises her vocation of intercession for the first time. She pleads to Jesus on behalf of the bridegroom. She knew Jesus was the answer to the problem. "Do whatever he tells you". She didn't even know what Jesus would do but had complete confidence in him.

This is a reminder for me that Mary is the most powerful of intercessors. I can turn to her knowing she will then turn to Jesus on my behalf.

Hail Mary full of grace. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Authority

But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he turned to the paralytic – ‘I order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home.’ And the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and walked...Mk.2:10-12

Jesus is preaching to crowds in a house so full that friends of a paralytic have to lower him to Jesus through a hole they made in the roof. Jesus first forgives the man his sins and then heals him to demonstrate his authority.

Father John Ray says his healing ministry is secondary to his preaching the Good News about Jesus. Healing demonstrates authority. As Jesus inferred, healing is the more dramatic demonstration but forgiveness of sins is more important.

I'm praying for healing for family members at the moment and healing from back pain for myself. But how is my forgiveness account with God? Time to shorten the account.

Lord Jesus, please forgive me my sins. Thank you for your healing power at work in my life. I claim your authority over my back and over the ailments of my family members, that you may be glorified.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Encouragement

keep encouraging one another so that none of you is hardened by the lure of sin, because we shall remain co-heirs with Christ only if we keep a grasp on our first confidence right to the end.Heb.3:13,14

We are warned against unbelief and commanded to encourage one another in our faith walk least our inheritance be lost as it was for the Hebrews in the desert.

A lost inheritance, a sobering thought. Something that was meant to give blessing and peace can slip through my fingers. The antidote is to be open and accountable to others encouragement.

I am fortunate to belong to two groups of men who do just that for me. Our weekly and fortnightly meetings are times of accountability and encouragement. I know that without them  I would be hardened by the lure of sin.

In turn, I can be an encourager to those I meet today.

Thank you Lord for the ‘Sons of Encouragement’ I have in my life. Help me keep confidence in my first love of you.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Man and God

It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.
Heb.2:17,18

The writer of Hebrews is explains who Jesus is, both fully man and fully God. This is critical to his mission of salvation.

One of the earliest heresies was the teaching that Jesus was God only and not man. It took a council of the Church to reiterate what had been said in Hebrews, he is fully man and fully God.

Each time I wrestle with sin I come back to this truth. Jesus, you have been here, you know what it is like for me, you can help me.

Lord Jesus, when I fall to temptation I turn to you who was tempted but didn’t fall. Thank you for your compassion. Your help Gives me strength and courage to try not to sin again.
Saint Augustine, please pray for me.

Authority

‘Here is a teaching that is new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’Mk.1:27

Jesus is starting his ministry by visiting synagogues and teaching, backing his authority with acts of deliverance.

The spiritual act of deliverance gives a physical result of healing. In a way this is metaphorical, the physical representing the spiritual. Father John Ray says his healing ministry is only to give authority to his preaching ministry. This is taken from Jesus' own example.

So, what does this mean for me? Firstly, my Christian faith is not just a nice, fluffy philosophy. It's based on authority. Also, this passage highlights there are spirits, some of them unclean and they can be rebuked in Jesus' name. This good news is Good News for me to take into my day...

Thank you Jesus for giving us authority over unclean spirits.  Give me wisdom when to exercise this authority.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Speak Lord

He has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is.Heb.1:2

The writer to the Hebrew Church highlights how God has spoken to us not just through prophets but through his very own Son, the same Son who is co-creator of all there is.

I have an image of creation where Jesus is leaping around the earth excitedly directing the Father's creative genius. "Dad, Dad! Push your thumb into this coastline to create a large bay where Mike can be refreshed and his spirit lifted". And the Firth of Thames is created with its Pohutukawa coastline and beautiful bays.

God indeed speaks to me through what he and his Son have created. My first revelation of God the Father came as I looked through the fresh thin skin and veins of a vibrant green spring leaf with a morning blue sky as background. I see the fingerprints of God everywhere.

I can see, I can "hear" God in the creation I move through today.

Lord, thank you for this beautiful land you have given me to live in today. Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Family of God

Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘The truth I have now come to realise’ he said ‘is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.
Acts.10:34,35

Peter, having being sent by the Holy Spirit to preach in the house of the Centurion Cornelius, declares that salvation through Jesus Christ is for all peoples, not just the Jews.

Both Peter and Cornelius were spoken to in a vision. The Holy Spirit has prepared both the preacher and listeners for this encounter. And it is Good news for both. For the first time it is made clear that Jesus came for all of mankind.

I'm about to go to Mass at our local parish where there are people from every continent in the congregation. What Peter proclaimed has borne fruit in our parish and indeed in the Church. How beautiful is the family of God.

Thank you Jesus for being Good News for us all. Help me welcome my brothers and sisters from all nations at Mass this morning.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Lay Claim

‘A man can lay claim only to what is given him from heaven. ‘You yourselves can bear me out: I said: I myself am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent in front of him'.Jn.3:27,28

John the Baptist's disciples report to him that Jesus is now baptising and that crowds are now going to him. John discerns that his God given mission has now ended.  He responds with great joy and graciously bows out.

All that is before John now is imprisonment and beheading at the whim of a tyrant. Yet of him Jesus says there has be no one greater born of man. John's greatness came from knowing his heaven-sent mission and sticking to it.

Laying claim to what is given from heaven is the key. Anything else is simply dust. What has been given to me from heaven? What is it that I am called to prepare the way?

Lord Jesus, you have plans for me that are for my good. Reveal them to me I pray that I may lay claim to them.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Morning by Morning

His reputation continued to grow, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their sickness cured, but he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray.Lk.5:16,16

Jesus is starting his public ministry with signs, wonders and miraculous healings. Huge crowds are starting to follow him but he always makes time to be alone and pray.

We are called to be corporate with the Church. There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian. Yet we are also called to times to be alone and pray, to have a one on one time with God in some shape or form. Jesus always found that lonely place where he could commune with his Father.

Morning prayer is my lonely place. If it doesn't happen then it doesn't happen. I need this time and  I need to make sure it happens, every day.

Thank you Jesus that you are always here waiting for me. Morning by morning new mercies I see.
Little Flower,, please pray for me.

Mission Statement

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’Lk.4:20,21

Jesus has just read from Isaiah his mission statement. Good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the downtrodden. His focus was and is for those at the bottom of the heap.

This is the mission of the Church today. If I claim to be a member I need to get up with the program.

The Alpha course is definitely Good News and those who have yet to fully know who Jesus is are definitely poor in spirit. Meanwhile, I can still watch out for captives, blind and downtrodden, those at the bottom of the heap. They are my ministry today.

Lord Jesus, give me your spirit so I can love those whom you love.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Giving to Gain

This is the love I mean: not our love for God, but God’s love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.1 Jn.4:10

Saint John writes to the early Church exhorting it to love. This love is exemplified by God himself. It's distinguishing character is that it's sacrificial.

I love porridge for breakfast. I love watching a good movie and I love reading a good book. This type of love is not love for another, is not sacrificial. When I love my wife, love my children and grandchildren it always seems to involve sacrifice, giving something up for me and giving something over to them.

The beauty and genius of sacrificial love is that I come away feeling as though I've gained something, that I'm somehow fuller, not lesser. In giving I gain. Today I can be a sacrificial lover to those I meet.

Lord Jesus, you are the greatest of all lovers. You sacrificed everything, naked on the cross, down to your last drop of blood. Lord, my tendency is to grab not give. Help me be a generous lover today.
Saint John, please pray for me.

Come and See

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ ‘From Nazareth?’ said Nathanael ‘Can anything good come from that place?’ ‘Come and see’ replied Philip. Jn.1:45,46

Jesus invites Philip to follow him, who in turn invites Nathanael. Nathanael is sceptical of any good coming from Nazareth but responds to the invitation, "Come and see".

For the second time in John's Gospel the invitation to "Come and see" bears fruit. There is something in this invitation that draws people in. The initiative is still with the person who responds. He could see and leave or see and stay. His choice.

The Alpha course website has the following leader... No pressure. No follow up. No charge. In other words, come and see. It is an effective invitation for people to come as they are with their questions and to explore the claims of Christians about the meaning of life.

Each time I look at the Alpha web site something inside of me goes... whoop whoop whoop! Am I meant to be involved in this ministry that specialises in inviting people to come and see?

Lord Jesus, if I am meant to be involved in Alpha, make it clear to me. I lay my sheep fleece before you.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

What do you Want? Come and See.

Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him...Jn.1:38,39

John the Baptist has just pointed out Jesus, identifying him. Two of his own followers go after Jesus to find out more about him. Jesus asks them the most penetrating of questions; "What do you want?" and then gives the most life-changing of invitations; "Come and see".

What do you want? Come and see. This is powerful evangelisation, a blueprint for the Church today.

"What do you want?" encourages people to identify their own need and helps them clarify for themselves what it is that is missing in their lives. Telling people what they need just makes them defensive.

"Come and see" still leaves the initiative with the person. They can approach Jesus on their terms. He doesn't mind. "Come and see" also displays a confidence in Christ, that he will meet each person, no matter how different, exactly where they are at.

What do you want? Come and see. This is to be my invitation to people I meet today.

Lord Jesus. Help me invite people into authentic relationship with you. You meet our every need.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

A Passionate Lover

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of...  

Jn.1:29

John the Baptist is underscoring who Jesus is by pointing and declaring to all present. From this stage onwards John becomes less as Jesus becomes more. John's role as a prophetic voice preparing the way for Jesus has been accomplished.

We all have a role to play in declaring who Jesus is. Some are preachers and teachers, others prophets, others witnesses and still others martyrs. And me? What is my role?

Last year I taught Scripture Journaling at a men's retreat. Last Sunday I taught children at Children's Liturgy. Am I a teacher? I think effective teachers are those who have a passion for their subject and a love for those they are teaching. When I tick both those boxes I'd say yes, I am a teacher.

I am also a husband, father and grandfather. When I have a passion for Jesus and a love for those I'm husbanding and fathering I'd say yes, I am an effective husband and father pointing towards Jesus.

The key to being an authentic witness to who Jesus is seems to be passion and love. May I be a passionate lover to those I meet today...

Jesus, you are the source of my passion, love and joy. Help me be a passionate lover pointing to you today.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Prepare the way for The Way

John said, ‘I am, as Isaiah prophesied: a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord.’
Jn.1:23

John the Baptist is quizzed by the Pharisees who are trying and discover if he is a threat. John tells them he is simply preparing the way for the greater one who is to come.

John the Baptist knew his role. It was simple and he stuck to it. People flocked to him because his message had the ring of authenticity. His humility was patently clear. His work was all about another. He was preparing the way for Jesus.

How much "preparing the way" do I do? Would the little I do cost me my head as it did John? Often my preparations are for the advancement of my plans. It's time for me to spend more time hearing the voice of one crying, "Prepare ye, prepare ye the way of the Lord!"

Lord Jesus, I want your path into my life to be less cluttered, less convoluted. Help me lower the mountains, fill the valleys, make your path straight.
John the Baptist, please pray for me.